New Delhi: Describing Sanskrit language as
the "spirit of India", Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Thursday said Government will further strengthen efforts for promotion,
development and enrichment of the ancient language.
Addressing the 15th World Sanskrit Conference here, Singh
said the spirit of liberalism and tolerance embedded in it
must be inculcated in our present day life.
"Like the civilisation of India, Sanskrit does not belong
to any particular race, sect or religion. It represents a
culture that is not narrow and sectarian but open tolerant and
all-embracing...It is this spirit of liberalism and tolerance
embedded in Sanskrit that we must inculcate in our present day
life," the Prime Minister said.
Singh noted that Sanskrit, which is recognised as one of
the oldest living languages in world, is often misunderstood
as only a language of religious hymns and rituals.
"Such an understanding does great injustice to the great
genius of the language and betrays ignorance of the work of
great writers, thinkers, sages and scientists like Kautilya,
Charaka, Sushruta, Aryabhata, Varahmihira, Brahmagupta,
Bhaskaracharya and others," he said.
Maintaining that Sanskrit has a treasure of knowledge of
Mathematics, Medicines, Botany, Chemistry, Arts and
Humanities, the Prime Minister felt that if we provide the
missing links and establish the required inter-disciplinary
approaches, the wisdom of Sanskrit has the potential of
enriching the present days knowledge systems and Indian
languages immensely.
Stressing that his government is committed to promotion
and the development of the Sanskrit language and listing the
steps being taken, Singh said, "...in the time to come, we
will further strengthen our efforts for promotion, development
and enrichment of Sanskrit language."
PTI
